Case 122 --

The contents of Lash's Bitters illustrates the typical contents of proprietary medicines of the late 1800's and early 1900's. Principally, the product contained large amounts of alcohol. Like most proprietary medicines, it was based on a herbal remedy. It was advertised to contain Rhamnus purshiana, an herbal laxative that was known and utilized by Native Americans. Many herbal remedies of this time did have medicinal value, but even those that did often had little, if any, of the active ingredients, as illustrated by the analyses of this bottle of Lash's Bitters. We also detected trace amounts of methanol and large levels of lead that could have posed serious health hazards to those who regularly used large amounts of Lash's Bitters.